He trusts no one. She questions everything. And a killer is watching them both. Riven Ashcroft doesn't take cases that require partners, doesn't stay anywhere long enough to leave a scent, and doesn't let anyone close enough to matter. He's a lone wolf — not by birth, but by survival. When a string of precise, ritualistic killings draws him to the mountain town of Ashveil, he expects a rogue predator, a quick investigation, and a clean exit. What he doesn't expect is her. Dr. Zephyrine Duskmore is a forensic pathologist who has already identified seven inconsistencies the Warden Council doesn't want found. She doesn't need protection — she needs the truth, and she has the instincts and the evidence to find it. When the council assigns Riven to "protect" her, they both know it's really damage control. But the killer is smarter than either of them anticipated. The victims aren't random. They're the cast-out, the refused, the supernaturals who tried to belong and were turned away — and someone believes that makes them expendable. As Riven and Zeph work closer and the case cuts deeper, it starts unraveling something Riven buried five years ago, when his entire pack was killed and the only name left standing was the one he's been tracking ever since. The closer they get to the truth, the more dangerous the investigation becomes. And the closer they get to each other, the more Riven has to reckon with the one thing his lone-wolf life never accounted for: a woman stubborn enough not to let him disappear. Because this case isn't just about who's killing. It's about who's been running things all along — and why the most powerful people in Ashveil needed both of them to never compare notes. The Lone Wolf's Forbidden Mate is a slow-burn paranormal romance packed with supernatural intrigue, a brooding lone-wolf tracker who doesn't believe in staying, and a fiercely brilliant heroine who refuses to look away from what the evidence shows. Including him. If you love paranormal romance with real investigative tension, emotionally guarded heroes, sharp heroines who hold their own, and a slow burn that earns every single degree